Watchdogs

Orion stands high in the southern sky. His hunting dogs follow him, to the east. His belt points to the "Dog star" Sirius, brightest star in the nighttime sky. Sirius is the nose of this dog, his front legs point to Orion, his ears are opposite. His back is parallel to Orion, below are his tail and one hind leg.

However, there are only two stars visible to the unaided eye near the "Little Dog star," Procyon. Nobody could possibly imagine a dog there! Why then, are they called the "Dog" stars?

Now, in January, the Sun rises eleven hours before Sirius. But by July, they will rise at just about the same time. This is called the heliacal rising of Sirius. Because of the slow turning of the axis of the Earth called precession, in ancient Egypt, five thousand years ago, this heliacal rising happened at the beginning of spring. Certainly all farmers and others who rose early saw Sirius rise at dawn.

Something else happened then, in the beginning of spring. The Nile River flooded, irrigating the crops of Egypt. New life began. This was the Egyptian New Year. And this was marked by the dawn rising of Sirius.

There was one problem, though. For weeks before, Sirius would be lost in the glare of the Sun. There were no written calendars then, no advance notice, no time to prepare. But another bright star rose with the Sun about a month before Sirius. The Egyptian name of Sirius was Cyon, so this star was called Pro-cyon.

So, like good watchdogs, Sirius and Procyon would herald a change: not for evil times, but for the rich times to come.

(01/17/07)